Timor-Leste, New Zealand discuss cooperation in the fight against transnational organised crime and irregular migration
DILI, 22 October 2026 (TATOLI) — Timor-Leste and New Zealand discussed strengthening cooperation to combat transnational organised crime and irregular migration during a meeting in Dili on Thursday.
Timor-Leste’s Minister of the Presidency of the Council of Ministers, Agio Pereira, met the New Zealand Irregular Migration Liaison Officer (IMLO), Timothy Andrew Chao at the Government Palace on 22 October. New Zealand Ambassador to Timor-Leste Helen Tunnah also attended the meeting.
The meeting took place during Chao’s working visit to Timor-Leste from 19 to 24 October, which includes discussions with national institutions on shared security challenges and opportunities to strengthen bilateral cooperation.
Officials discussed Timor-Leste’s priorities in tackling transnational organised crime and irregular migration, as well as ways to expand cooperation between the two countries.
Areas of potential cooperation include information and experience sharing, capacity building and closer coordination between relevant institutions in Timor-Leste and New Zealand.
Chao is based at the New Zealand Embassy in Jakarta and is accredited to Timor-Leste as a police liaison officer specialising in irregular migration.
He has more than 30 years of experience in criminal investigations, including drug trafficking, organised crime, intelligence and asset recovery.
From 2019 to 2023, he served as New Zealand Police liaison officer to Europol, the European Union’s law enforcement cooperation agency, in The Hague, the Netherlands.
His current visit includes meetings with officials from relevant Timor-Leste institutions to discuss challenges associated with transnational organised crime and irregular migration and to continue existing cooperation in these areas.
Chao also visited Timor-Leste in April 2026, when he met representatives of national security and criminal investigation institutions, including the National Police of Timor-Leste (PNTL) and the Scientific Police for Criminal Investigation (PCIC).
Those discussions covered irregular migration, efforts to prevent and combat transnational crime, and cooperation between Timor-Leste and New Zealand authorities.
TATOLI
